Thing 13: Podcasts

Podcasts of lectures and other programs (those that lend themselves to audio recording) held in, or sponsored by, the library would be a useful addition to our services.

Western Kentucky University Libraries has been doing this since 2006 and has one convenient Web page that lists the newest podcasts, along with links to all the podcasts in 7 different series. I noticed that they also link to their library audio tour podcast. I like the way they've included one photograph to enhance the brief description of each podcast.

Here's a reference to an article from the latest issue of Library Hi Tech that we could take a look at, in the process of deciding where to start with podcasts.


TI: Podcasting initiatives in American research libraries
AU: Bierman, James; Valentino, Maura L.
JN: Library Hi Tech
PD: 14 June 2011
VO: 29
NO: 2
PG: 349-358(10)
PB: Emerald Group Publishing Limited
IS: 0737-8831

Core Value: Team Focus [June, 2011]

My activity for this Core Value is different from the suggested one. I think it relates well to Team Focus, though; and it's easier for me to do, since I'm on 9-month contract.

Last year, one of the positive psychology-related e-mail lists I subscribe to sent a summary of some recent research studies on Consistent Contributors (CCs). I found it intriguing and followed up to read more about the research. The studies found that the presence of a Consistent Contributor--"a person who always contributes, regardless of others' choices"--makes the group as a whole more productive. Researcher J. Keith Murnighan ended the summary with this recommendation: "Anytime you join a group, join one with a consistent contributor. And if there isn't one, consider being one--not just for instrumental reasons."

Murnighan and his coauthor conducted four research studies on Consistent Contributors (CCs). In the discussion section of journal article describing these studies, they state:

These four studies tell a simple, powerful story: CCs emerge, even when they might be least expected; the members of their groups contribute more and cooperate more often; and CCs themselves not only do not suffer from their risky cooperative actions, as most theories say they should, but actually seem to benefit from them (in three of four studies). Groups of more 'rational' actors, in contrast, are not as efficient. [Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95.6 (2008): 1349-1350.]

I worked with two Consistent Contributors for many years--Virginia Branch and Pat Farthing--and I saw the positive influence they had on our team. We have several Consistent Contributors in the library now, at every level, from student assistants through administrators. I have also heard about Consistent Contributors in other areas of campus, and seen them in action on committees.

There is an important caveat that must be mentioned, however--one that I've learned (the hard way) to keep in mind. We all have many commitments and responsibilities that must be balanced against each other. If I've decided to be a Consistent Contributor on a project or committee--because the task is large or complex, or because a lot is riding on the outcome--I must still be sure that I'm not shortchanging or neglecting my other obligations. I've also learned (I should say, I'm still learning) that I must be careful not to allow my enthusiasm for new projects and initiatives to jeopardize timely and successful completion of existing projects and initiatives.

Flickr

I explored Flickr in March, and made notes on some of the ideas I had. Unfortunately I didn't get my blog post written then, so this post is based on my notes.

• I took the Flickr tour and created my account. I hadn't realized until then that Flickr was a Yahoo product.
• I haven't yet done anything with Flickr to use my account.

The same week I took the Flickr tour, my husband Roger was helping out our granddaughter, Sierra, with a really interesting assignment. It occurred to me that the library might be able to combine this assignment with Flickr to create a different kind of online tour of the library.

Our granddaughter Sierra's school assignment was based on the Flat Stanley Project. The project was inspired by the 1964 book, Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown. Sierra sent Roger a picture of herself that she had drawn. She wanted him to take her picture, named Flat Sierra, to interesting places in Boone and Todd (where we live). He photographed Flat Sierra in those locations and wrote a story of Flat Sierra's journey to accompany the pictures. Each picture had a caption of a few lines, moving the journey along but also informing Sierra about the place/building shown in the photograph. Roger sent the pictures and captions to Sierra so that she could present it to her classmates.

I was thinking that a tour of Belk Library & Information Commons could be modeled on the Flat Stanley Project and created in Flickr. If I'm understanding Flickr correctly, the tour could be a Collection. There could be sets of Flat Yosef (maybe? or Flat someone else appropriate for the task) photos for different types of tours--one arranged by floor, another arranged by collection, yet another arranged by tasks that people might want to accomplish in the library (get help; study; learn information literacy skills; create a digital project; etc.). 

I also thought that it might be interesting to use a child's drawing and name, linking the Flat Tour with our IMC and our work with children's literature and the IMC. 

Below I've posted three of Roger's Flat Sierra photographs. Flat Sierra came to the library during her journey. I've added Roger's captions that helped narrate her library tour.

Flat Sierra in the book stacks. Caption: "There are so many books that I am having a hard time picking one out!! But maybe Glenn Ellen (who is a Professor and Librarian) can help me out. I sure hope so."

Flat Sierra inside a Second Floor reading room. Caption: "The Library seems even bigger inside than from the outside! And it is very bright and pretty. I know I would spend lots of time here if I was an Appalachian student."

Flat Sierra outside the library with a statue: "After our visit with Glenn Ellen, Grandpa and I left the Library to go see where he teaches. On the way, I met a student on the Library deck and helped her with her homework. She was very nice and thanked me for all my good ideas!!!"

Prezis

I looked into Prezis in November, but unfortunately did not get my reflections posted in a timely manner. So, here are my thoughts, based on notes I made then.

• I went to the Prezi site and looked at some of the presentations. I found them fascinating and thought that students would enjoy them as an alternative to PowerPoint slides, textual outlines, or screencasts. Students could use Prezis for reviewing material that I present in an instruction sessions and want them to use on their own. [I made notes on a couple of the Prezis that I looked at, but I have misplaced my notes.]
• I also thought that Prezis are so creative, and my thinking is generally so linear, that I would have a hard time "envisioning" my material in Prezi format. I would love to be able to pair up with someone, and explain to that person the material I would like to turn into a Prezi, and have that person design the Prezi. Then, the two of us could collaborate on editing and refining the Prezi.
• I signed up for a student/teacher free account, using the Prezi EDU education license. According to the confirmation I received, I can only create presentations online, but I can download the finished products and present them offline. There will be no watermarks. I can make them private or public. I have up to 500 mb of storage. I will need to use Firefox or Safari when creating presentations. I can download an iPad app for Prezis, so that I can see how my own Prezis or others' look on the iPad.

• Unfortunately, I never got as far as beginning a Prezi of my own. I'm hoping to do so this summer.
• If I were to create a Prezi, either on my own or in partnership with someone else (as mentioned above), here are some topics that I would like to work on. These are things that I use pretty often in my teaching. They would make great in-class teaching aids; they would also work well to assign to students for homework before class, or for review after class but before completing a graded assignment:

1. Criteria for selecting "Best Choice" items from a database search
2. Author/title searching for known items; include modifications that need to be made when moving from the WNCLN Library Catalog to WorldCat
3. Cited reference searching
4. Compositionist Robert Fulkerson's STAR criteria for guiding students in selecting outside sources for research papers. [I really like this set of criteria; I think it offers good guidance from the first-year level through graduate and faculty level.] Fulkerson says that, to be strong, outside evidence supporting an interpretation argument should be Sufficient, Typical, Accurate, and Relevant (STAR). He describes this in the following chapter: 

Fulkerson, Richard. "Making the research paper worth your time." The subject is research: processes and practices. Ed. Wendy Bishop and Pavel Zemliansky. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 2001. 12-27.

Core Value: Cooperation [April, 2011]

On April 6, 2011, I attended a meeting of the Technology Services Team (3:15 p.m. in Room 421).

Unfortunately, I didn't get my reflections on this meeting posted in a timely fashion, and I'm writing from memory; so my apologies to TS folks if anything is incorrect.

• The meeting had a relaxed, comfortable, and informal style, both in its structure and in team members' discussion style
• The meeting was brief, but a good many items were discussed, including the checkout system for group study rooms that was in development, and a possibility of increased interaction between the library's electronic classrooms and other labs/tech support on campus.
• As far as enhanced inter-team collaboration as a result of my attending the TS meeting: 

--I came away with a better sense of which colleagues are members of this relatively new team.
--I enjoyed seeing colleagues that I've worked with for many years, in their "regular team meeting" environment. Usually, when I see them, they're helping me puzzle through a software or hardware dilemma, fixing some of my office equipment that has malfunctioned, or simultaneously solving a problem in one of the classrooms and getting me calmed down at the beginning of an instruction session. So, this was a nice change of pace.
--It was also good to see colleagues who came on board more recently, some of whom I didn't realize were part of the TS Team.
--I have been working more closely with Jonathan Priest since this meeting, so I think the meeting helped me begin to get a better sense of his job responsibilities.
--I also had a brief conversation with Paul Orkiszewski after the meeting that, in like manner, helped me better understand the TS Team.